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(SACRAMENTO, CA) - Omer Goldman Granot is the daughter of Naftali Granot, the former deputy to Mossad’s chief Meir Dagan. She never fails to disappoint the apartheid war machine, nor does she fail to gain our most serious respect.

You see Omer, who grew up in the Tel-Aviv suburb of Ramat HaSharon, is a young Israeli conscientious objector and member of the Shministim.

In the group's own words...

The Shministim are Israeli high school students who have been imprisoned for refusing to serve in an army that occupies the Palestinian Territories

It seems important to retell her story as Israel wraps up its latest, savage attack on Gaza, which alone proves Israel's lack of legitimacy and fairness as a world government.

Omer is one of so many Israelis that you never hear about, except maybe here and a few other news outlets in the Arab world that shoot straight and true, unlike the majority of their Israeli counterparts, with the exception of Ha'aretz.

Goldman is one of those human beings who simply has the insight and intelligence to identify the negative aspects of her nation's demand upon her. Perhaps it was her position as the daughter of a heavy operator like Granot that led to her courage and stand.

It has not been easy for Omer Goldman, she isn't winning any popularity contests in Israel for calling out government for its illegal war on Palestine. It is not surprising that Goldman has had to confront the values of her own family.

Her own country's forces fired at her because of her politics

Her father, the former deputy head of Mossad, the Israeli intelligence service... is still considered one of the most powerful men in the Israeli security system. Omer's development as a peace activist is rooted in a very dark incident.

You see without her fathers permission, Omer visited a West Bank Palestinian town, and at a check-point, alongside Palestinians, her supposed enemies, was fired upon by Israeli soldiers.

"We were sitting by the roadside talking and soldiers came along and after a few seconds they received an order and fired gas grenades and rubber bullets at us. Then it struck me, to my astonishment, that the soldiers were following an order without thinking. For the first time in my life, an Israeli soldier raised his weapon and fired at me."

Israel routinely subjects Palestinians to illegal torture, detainment and worse... Many are arrested and never seen again. Israeli sex crimes against young incarcerated Palestinians are said to be rampant.

Most are held by Israel for months without being able to see their parents or receive a court date, and they are forever traumatized.

Omer is one of many Conscientious Objectors in Israel

The crime most are accused of? That would be stone throwing, and often those youths arrested for this David-like crime against the oppressive Israeli apartheid regime are totally innocent[1].

To aggravate matters, Israel's apartheid system, with one set of laws for Jews and another set for non-Jews, does not allow Israeli children to even be arrested until they are 12.

This is in sharp contrast, as many Palestinians as young as 6 are arrested by Israel and their lives potentially ruined. Denied school and subjected to being imprisoned, it is amazing anyone questions why Palestinians often retaliate against Israel.

In truth, those who read pro-Israeli media (up to and including the New York Times) are often treated to stories about Israelis throwing stones at Palestinians as if the double standard were perfectly OK, it is bizarre to say the least.

Not surprisingly, Goldman's father does not support her decision to refuse to partake in this mission to eradicate the Palestinians, however he says he still supports her as a daughter.

Goldman says she and her father still have something in common.

"He and I have very similar characters. I, too, fight to the end for what I believe in. But we are opposites ideologically."

In her declaration of refusal she stated:

I refuse to enlist in the Israeli military. I shall not be part of an army that needlessly implements a violent policy and violates the most basic human rights on a daily basis.

Like most of my peers, I too have not dared to question the ethics of the Israeli military. But when I visited the Occupied Territories I realized I see a completely different reality, a violent, oppressive, extreme reality that must be ended.

I believe in service to the society I am part of, and that is precisely why I refuse to take part in the war crimes committed by my country. Violence will not bring any kind of solution, and I shall not commit violence, come what may.

Omer Goldman says those who are a captive of the media mind control police (i.e. the corporate news media) tend to believe two things:

Israel is "defending" itself against the Palestinians

All Israelis support their government's policy of endless war against Palestinian civilians.

Goldman says, "it is this second lie that the Israeli media mafia guards most closely - and desperately hopes Americans never figure out".

She states clearly, that contrary to Israeli war party propaganda in the US, not all Jews and not all Israelis support Israel's Nazi-like conduct in the Occupied Territories.

She believes this simple fact is probably the single most censored piece of news in the United States. How it has been able to advance so far in a supposedly free country is both disappointing and hard to comprehend.

Meet the Shministim

Why I am one of the Shministim:“…But it cannot be said lightly, the time has long passed for gentle language and “hear-able” rhetoric: The Occupation– which is the IDF’s primary function these days- is cruelty and injustice manifest. The Occupation is anti-God, anti-Love and staggeringly, constantly violent. The Occupation is based on a system of racial/ethnic separation that does, in fact, resemble South African Apartheid and segregation in the Southern United States until the 1960s. And this “temporary” Occupation is not “on its way out,” but is rather growing in strength every single day. There is almost zero political will within Israel’s government to end it, and the Israeli public has largely accepted the status quo, in which the occupation is basically a theoretical question, and one of which many have grown tired. But the occupation can only be theoretical if you are not occupied, and thus my refusal to support the occupation by serving in the IDF is also an act of solidarity with Palestinians living under occupation.”

Name: Alon Gurman Age: 19 Location: Tel Aviv Why I am one of the Shministim: “ My refusal to serve in the Israeli military, in addition to being a refusal to take part in occupation and apartheid, is an act of solidarity with our Palestinian friends living under Israeli regime, and those who bravely choose to struggle against it.”

Name: Noam Gur Age: 18 Location: Kiryat Motzkin Why I am one of the Shministim: “ For years I have been told that this control is supposed to protect me, but information about the suffering caused due to terrorizing the Palestinian population is omitted from the story…”

Name: Or Ben-David Age: 19 Location: Jerusalem Why I am one of the Shministim: “I refuse because I want to make a difference. I want all those Palestinian youths who have lost hope to see that there are Israelis who care and who make a different choice. I want all those of my friends who became soldiers or who are about to become soldiers to see that things don’t have to be the way they are…”Pre-Sentence: 28th Sept. 2009 (7 days of confinement to base) First Sentence: 29th Oct. 2009(20 days)Second Sentence: 16th Nov. 2009 (20 days)Third Sentence: 15th Dec. 2009 (34 days)

Name: Efi Brener Age: 18 Location: Rishon Le Zion (a suburb of Tel-Aviv) Why I am one of the Shministim: “I object to oppression, whether it is committed by a hierarchical organisation, such as the military is, or whether it is committed by the human species against animals.”First Sentence: 22nd Oct. 2009 (10 days)

Name: Tamar Katz Age: 19 Location: Tel-Aviv Why I am one of the Shministim: “I refuse to enlist in the Israeli military on conscientious grounds. I am not willing to become part of an occupying army, that has been an invader of foreign lands for decades, which perpetuates a racist regime of robbery in these lands, tyrannizes civilians and makes life difficult for millions under a false pretext of security.”First Sentence: 28th Sept. - 10th Oct. 2008 (12 days) Second Sentence: 12th - 30th Oct. 2008(18 days)Third Sentence: 1st - 22nd Dec. 2008 (21 days)

Name: Yuval Ophir-Auron Age: 19 Why I am one of the Shministim:“I am convinced that it is no one but ourselves who determines that it is our fate to live by the sword. There is another way, which is not the way of war. This is the path of dialogue, of understanding, of concession, forgiveness, of peace. I believe that a person should take responsibility and feel reconciled to the way he chooses. This is why I shall not join an army behind whose actions I cannot stand and whose behavior I cannot justify.”First Sentence: 24th Nov. - 5th Dec. 2008Second Sentence: 7th - 14th December 2008

Tim King has more than twenty years of experience on the west coast as a television news producer, photojournalist, reporter and assignment editor. Tim is Salem-News.com's Executive News Editor. His background includes covering the war in Afghanistan in 2006 and 2007, and reporting from the Iraq war in 2008. Tim is a former U.S. Marine who follows stories of Marines and Marine Veterans; he's covered British Royal Marines and in Iraq, Tim embedded with the same unit he served with in the 1980's.

Tim holds awards for reporting, photography, writing and editing from traditional mainstream news agencies like The Associated Press and Electronic Media Association; he also holds awards from the National Coalition of Motorcyclists, the Oregon Confederation of Motorcycle Clubs; and was presented with a 'Good Neighbor Award' for his reporting, by the The Red Cross.

Tim's years as a Human Rights reporter have taken on many dimensions; he has rallied for a long list of cultures and populations and continues to every day, with a strong and direct concentration on the 2009 Genocide of Tamil Hindus and Christians in Sri Lanka. As a result of his long list of reports exposing war crimes against Tamil people, Tim was invited to be the keynote speaker at the FeTNA (Federation of Tamil Sangams of North America) Conference in Baltimore, in July 2012. This is the largest annual gathering of North American Tamils; Tim addressed more than 3000 people and was presented with a traditional Sri Lanka ‘blessed garland’ and a shawl as per the tradition and custom of Tamil Nadu

In a personal capacity, Tim has written 2,026 articles as of March 2012 for Salem-News.com since the new format designed by Matt Lintz was launched in December, 2005. Serving readers with news from all over the globe, Tim's life is literally encircled by the endless news flow published by Salem-News.com, where more than 100 writers contribute stories from 23+ countries and regions.

Tim specializes in writing about political and military developments worldwide; and maintains that the label 'terrorist' is ill placed in many cases; specifically with the LTTE Tamil Tigers in Sri Lanka, where it was used as an excuse to slaughter people by the tens of thousands; and in Gaza, where a trapped population lives at the mercy of Israel's destructive military war crime grinder. At the center of all of this, Tim pays extremely close attention to the safety and welfare of journalists worldwide. You can write to Tim at this address: tim@salem-news.com. Visit Tim's Facebook page (facebook.com/TimKing.Reporter)

All comments and messages are approved by people and self promotional links or unacceptable comments are denied.

john book November 23, 2012 10:48 am (Pacific time)

yup....was what I thought.. brain-washed high school kids... Just what do you think those "peace-loving" muslims are going to do to you and your people when they destroy your country? And don't forget, the Hollicost never happened. That was just clever Jewish propaganda....

Editor: Those who can not spell words like 'Holocaust' should reserve their comments. Also note how this 'john' leaves the word 'Muslims' in lower case. John, you are apartheid.

Tim King November 23, 2012 1:46 am (Pacific time)

Also Nate, remember, you are apartheid...

It is too bad you only care about other Jewish people buddy, you should really try to expand your little mind and grow like others, it is the best advice I can offer your bitchy little self, there there little Jewish Lesbian for Peace...

Comment by Nate Mikhlin November 23, 2012 1:31 am (Pacific time)

(Copied from Nate Mikhlin's Website: 'Jewish Lesbians for Peace')

"F*ck off Tim. F*ck right off. Your team won, the terrorists won, what more do you want?"

Tim King: Geez dude, you seriously crack me up, too bad you can't bottle and sell your blatant insecurity, 'f*ck off Tim' 'f*ck right off' - all smiles.... Happy Thanksgiving to you buddy, and as for the terrorists winning, Israel is not winning so I can't follow you, meer erhabi? (Who's the terrorist) Yeah that's what I thought. Go Shministim!